Monday Update

For the first time, the dawn prayer call woke me up. There is a mosque close to the Kadirs home; actually, there is a mosque close to everywhere in Dubai. In some parts of town, you can actually here prayer calls from multiple mosques at the same time. Though I was up early, I didn't leave the house until 9:30. I opted to take the Big Bus Tour around town. The first bus at the closest stop arrived at 10:00. So I walked a short way down Al Thanya to Jumeirah Road, but didn't see a sign or any indication where, exactly, the bus would stop. So I called the company and was told I had to pick it up for the first time at the Souk Madinat Jumeirah. Luckily, that was just a short taxi ride away, and I was able to catch it there on time.

The first half of the ride, I didn't need to get off the bus at all, as it was things I had already seen, and I really just needed to connect up with the other route that would take me around the other side of town. However, they do a running commentary of the area, which was really interesting. The first stop I alighted was the Dubai Museum, housed in the old Al Fahidi Fort. Didn't spend much time here, as I was trying to make a 3:30 dhow river cruise. But I got some great pictures of the outside, the fort.

The old Bastakiya section has been preserved to show visitors how Dubai used to look. Some of the buildings have restaurants and such in them, but the place was all but deserted. It was like walking through a ghost town. But the buildings were really cool.

Next, the Gold Souk. People from all over the world come here to buy gold because it's sold for just a little more than market value. Labor to make jewelry is so cheap, but the finished products are really intricate and beautiful. But the souk...well, I got entirely lost. I left the market from a different place than I entered, and thought I could find my way back. But the streets zig-zag into alleys, etc., etc., and I never found my way back to the bus pickup spot. However, I did manage to find the Creek simply by following what I felt must be the right direction. Unfortunately, by this time it was way past the 3:30 dhow cruise. So I ate dinner and waited for the 5:3o one, which actually was better because the sun was setting and it was really picturesque. I feel like the days should be really long, with sunset more like 9:30, because it feels like summer. But it's actually fall, so it's dark by 6 or 6:30.

The unfortunate part is, the cruise got back around this time, which is too late to catch the Big Bus Tour bus back to the right neighborhood. So I crossed the river in another dhow and walked to the bus terminal. It was crowded, but I only counted 2 other women. But this meant that the pushing, shoving, foreign laborers who made up the other passengers for my bus let me board first, and stood so that I could sit. Chivalry is not dead here! I actually had no idea what stop to get off, but at my first glimpse of the Burj Al Arab, which is close to the house, I decided it was about where it should be, so I got off. Sure enough, I was right back at Al Thanya and Jumeirah Beach Road, just a ten minute walk home. When I got there, I played Memory with Aleaha (3) using half the cards. She won.

I think I'll write about today in the morning. It's only 9pm, but I've done a lot of walking today and I'm tired.